•526  International  Pharmaceutical  Congress.     { ^"^oct^^iSi^'^™' 
Holland. — Since  1864,  before  entering  pharmacy,  a  candidate  must  pass 
a  literary  examination,  which  includes  Dutch,  French  and  German,  the 
■elements  of  Latin  ;  he  must  also  pass  in  arithmetic  and  mathematics  to  a 
certain  point.  Haviug  passed  that,  the  habit  is  to  go  to  the  university,  of 
which  there  are  four,  at  Leyden,  Groningberg,  Utrecht  and  Amsterdam. 
In  order  to  be  admitted  to  the  university,  they  must  tirst  pass  the  literary 
•examination,  then  they  pursue  the  same  course  as  other  students  and  have 
to  pass  a  scientific  examination  by  a  board  of  professors  of  natural  philoso- 
phy, chemistry,  botany,  zoology  and  so  on.  Haviug  done  that,  they  are 
called  candidates  of  pharniacy,  and  every  year  the  king  appoints  a  board 
of  examijiers,  to  which  those  who  have  successfully  followed  out  their 
studies  in  the  university  may  present  themselves  for  examination.  The 
majority  of  that  board  consists  of  pharmacists.  There  they  are  examined 
in  the  application  of  botany  and  microscopy  with  regard  to  drugs.  If  suc- 
cessful in  that,  they  are  submitted  to  a  practical  examination  which  lasts  a 
week,  and  all  the  operations  must  be  done  in  the  presence  of  one  or  two 
examiners.  The  candidates  have  to  make  toxicological  analysis,  to  detect 
adulterations  in  medicine,  to  prepare  at  least  two  galenical  preparations 
and  to  make  some  chemical  j^reparations.  After  that  they  are  passed. 
The  wiiole  of  this  may  be  passed  in  one  year,  if  they  like,  but  it  is  ahnost 
imi^ossible  ;  and  before  passing  he  last  examination  they  must  produce  a 
•certificate  of  having  been  at  least  two  years  practising  pharmacy.  As  to 
their  rights,  the  preparation  and  sale  of  medicine  is  not  allowed  to  any 
one  excejDt  a  i^harmacien,  but  he  must  not  prescribe.  They  are,  however, 
more  free  than  in  France  ;  if  applied  to  for  any  drug  the  pharmacist  may 
sell  it,  but  must  not  give  advice  nor  sell  ^joisons.  There  are  many  small 
villages  where  there  are  no  pharmacists,  and  there  are  physicians  or  gene- 
ral practitioners  who  have  the  right  to  deliver  to  their  patients  the  medi- 
cines which  they  prescribe,  but  they  cannot  do  so  if  there  is  a  pharmacist 
there.  Again,  in  every  university  there  is  a  professor  of  ^jharmacy,  and  a 
pharmacist  may  become  a  doctor  of  pharmacy  when  he  is  the  equal  of  a 
medical  man  having  studied  at  the  same  university.  Very  few  avail 
themselves  of  this  honor  because  the  course  prescribed  is  rather  long. 
Belgium. — Pharmaceutical  education  is  perfectly  free.  It  is  organized 
at  four  universities,  two  of  which  are  State  establishments.  Diplomas  are 
granted  by  a  board  at  each  university,  and  also  by  a  central  board  which 
is  deputed  by  the  government  to  examine  pharmacists.  No  one  is  admit- 
ted to  the  university  without  having  a  sufficient  preliminary  education, 
and  to  insure  this  a  preliminary  examination  is  required.  It  is  antici- 
pated that  the  regulations  will  be  revised  next  year,  but  at  present  the 
examination  requires  a  knowledge  of  physics,  botany,  the  elements  of 
mineralogy  and  zoology.  There  is  then  a  practical  examination  in  chem- 
istry. Having  passed  that,  the  candidate  presents  himself,  either  at  one 
of  the  universities  or  the  central  board,  where  he  is  examined  in  the  natu- 
ral history  of  drugs  and  medicaments,  and  in  theoretical  and  practical 
pharmacy,  and  the  elements  of  toxicology.  When  he  has  passed  these 
two  examinations,  he  goes  on  to  the  third  which  is  purely  practical,  in 
which  he  has  to  make  several  preparations,  pharmaceutical,  galenical  and 
